Detroit Tigers: 4 Moves That Will Help Team Now and Later

Trade Matt Boyd, Jairo Labourt and Arvicent Perez to Tampa Bay for Jake Odorizzi

On the surface, this may seem like a typical Dave-Dombrowski deal, trading prospects for a big league contributor. However, this potential deal isn’t mortgaging the future whatsoever. In fact, it may improve Detroit’s long-term outlook.

Boyd has shown flashes this season, but is far from a finished product. At 26, Odorizzi is only a year older and much more of an established pitcher. What’s more, the Tampa Bay starter has a higher ceiling thanks to his ability to strike batters out at a high rate.

To top it all off, Odorizzi isn’t arbitration eligible until 2017. He won’t hit free agency until 2020.

With a 23-29 record, the former Royal seems like the kind of pitcher who could pile up the wins with an improved offense backing him. This happened to the likes of Doug Fister and Sanchez when they arrived in Detroit, and it could happen with Odorizzi.

In terms of the other prospects, Labourt is the wild card of the bunch. The pitcher has the potential to be a solid big-league starter, but he may end up in a bullpen. Either way, that’s a small price to pay for a proven and controllable starting pitcher like Odorizzi.

Rounding out the deal is Perez, who is hitting .294 at Single-A Western Michigan. Detroit has plenty of depth behind the plate now and for the future. James McCann will ideally be the starter for the next decade, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia brings some pop to the bench. Minor league players like John Hicks, Kade Scivicque and Grayson Greiner give the Tigers more options down the road.

For Tampa, Perez provides the team with another future option behind the plate as current backstops Curt Casali and Hank Conger are both hitting under .200 this season.